Biography

• Born on 5th January 1938 in exile in Rome, where he remained until 1947. He was educated by private teachers and from 1948 on Franco’s orders in Spanish schools.
• From 1955 to 1960 he attended various Spanish military academies. Tutored by university professors he then studied Political Sciences, Economics, Philosophy and the History of Literature at his residence near Madrid.
• In July 1969 he was sworn in as Prince of Spain; later he was promoted to the ranks of General and Admiral and assigned representational duties.
• Two days after Franco’s death he was crowned King of Spain (1975); he supported the development of political parties as well as the modernization of the country and played a decisive role in its democratization. After the first free elections in 1976 he appointed Adolfo Suarez as Prime Minister, whose government advanced democratic reforms (in 1978 a modern constitution was adopted). At the attempted coup by officers of the Guardia Civil (1981) he aligned himself with the democratization process leading to the failure of the coup.